Feed mechanism for slicing machines



Jam. 19, 1932.- J. c, VAN BERKEL.

FEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1926 Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES rATENTY OFFICE JOHANN CORNELIS VAN BERKEL, OF GOPENHAGEN, DENIVIARK, ASSIGNOR, BY .MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T NAAMLOOZE VENNOOTSCHAP MAATSCHAIPPIJ TOT VERAARDIG- ING VAN SNIJ MACHINES VOLGENS VAN BERKEL S PATENT EN VAN ANDERE WERK- TUIGEN, OF ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND, 0F ROTTERDAIvI, NETHERLANDS, A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY OF THE NETHERLANDS FEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Application filed November 22, 1926, Serial No. 149,805, and in Great Britain June 4, 1926.

This invention relates to slicing machines of the kind characterized by a swinging-arm, adapted to carry the rotary knife and to move the latter transversely to the "substancecarrying table, the forward feed 0f said table being effected by means of pawl and ratchet or other suitable mechanism, which is intermittently operated through the movement of the swinging-arm.

There is, at present, the disadvantage that the extent of the feeding movement of the substance-carrying table varies according to the angle through which the swinging-arm is moved, said substance-carrying table being fed forward through a greater distance when the arm ismoved through a large angle than when moved through a smaller angle. Thus, the displacement of said table is not strictly dependent on the setting of said feed-regu- Z lating device. f

In machines with swingingarms, it is desirable that the stroke of the swinging-arm should be varied in accordance with the width of the substance to be sliced; that is to say, the knife should be withdrawn upwardly the least possible amount past the substance before commencing its downward cutting stroke. It is also desirable that each forward feeding movement of the substancecarrying table should be effected after the knife has been withdrawn past the substance,

but prior to the commencement of the neXt slice. In addition, the extent of each feeding movement should not be variable as a -result of variations in the length Vof the arc of swing, but should be capable of regulation by independent means.

With the above desiderata in view, the present invention comprises a slicing machine of the kind referred to having a device which gives equal movements to the feed mechanism at a point, determined in accordance with the slice to be cut by adjustment of the device, in the stroke of the swingingarm, the substance-carrying table being fed forward during` each of said movements to an extent determined by a separate feedregulating device.

An exemplary construction of the device 5 according to the invention is constituted by a member which is turnable relatively to the swinging-arm, but which is adapted to be rigidly secured thereto, whereby each forward feeding movement of the substancecarrying table may be effected after the knife has been withdrawn past the substance and just prior to the commencement of the neXt slice, the eXtent of said feeding movei ment being determined solely by the setting of the usual feed-regulating device.

Said member may consist of a cam, movable means being provided for operatively connecting the cam to the swinging-arm, so that the cam may be adjusted angularly relatively to the swinging-arm, and means being also provided for operatively connecting the cam to the feed-mechanism. Means are also provided for regulating the feed-mechanism to vary the thickness of slice to be cut. The cam (or swinging-arm) may be provided with a series of spaced holes adapted to be engaged by a. spring-pressed pin provided on the swinging-arm (or cam).

The feed-mechanism may comprise a pawl which is mounted on a rod adapted to be Operated by a spring-pressed, pivoted lever in operative engagement with said cam, said pawl co-operating with a feed screw which is rotatably arranged on the machine frame and is engaged by a segmental-nut provided on the substance-carrying table. A cam device, which co-operates with said pawl, may be provided for regulating the turning movement of said feed screw and for controlling the extent 0f the feeding movement of the substance-carrying table.

A constructional form of the present invention, applied to a slicing machine having a hand-operated swinging-arm, and a power driven knife, such as described, for example, in the specification of my Patent No. 1,713,- 936, is shown, by way of example, on the annexed sheet of drawings, whereon Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine; and

Fig. 2 is a view of the rear end of the machine, the knife driving motor and its supporting bracket and also the driving gears being omitted for clearness.

Referring to the drawings The machine comprises a frame 1 whereon is slidably guided a substance-carrying table 2, having the usual uprights 2'u1 and a meat clamp 2b thereon, said frame being` formed with an upstanding bracket 3, which is formed, at one side, with projecting edge, or wall, 4. The table 2 is advanced toward the knife by mechanism to be described hereinafter. A shaft 5 is ournalle-d in a bearing provided at the upper part of the bracket 3, an annular wheel G, ha yring internal teeth 7, being secured to the shaft at the rear of said bracket. in electric motor 8 is moun'tetL on a bracket 9 secured to tne bracket 3 below the internally toothed wheel 6, a pinion 10 being secured to the shaft 11 of the motor and arranged to engage the teeth 7 of the wheel 6 and to drive the latter. The pinion 10 and the wheel 6 are both made ofV pockwood, or similar material, in order to provide a noiseless drive. A chain sprocket 12 is secured to the shaft 5 on the other side of the bracket 3, and a depending arm 13 is pivotally mounted on said shaft between the boss ll of said sprocket and the adjacent face of the bracket 3.

' A knife shaft 15 is journalled in the forked end of the arm 13, a. rotary knife 16 being secured to said shaft and protected by a guard 17 secured to the arm 13. In order to rotate the knife shaft, a chain sprocket 1S is secured thereon and is operatively con nected to the driving sprocket 12 by means of an endless chain 19. A handle 2O fixed to the arm 13 allows the latter to be handoperated. A stop-pin such as the stop pin 21 shown in my aforementioned l atent No. 1,7 -3,936, may be used for limiting the swinging movement of the arm.

A negative lead 22 is connected to the electric motor and the current supply to the latter is adapten to be interrupted by means of a switch inserted in the positive lead 23 and comprising a pivoted switch-arm 24 and a spring (not shown) which normally holds the switch closed.

A laterally projecting cam 26 is provided on the swinging-arm 13 and is arranged in such a manner with respect to the switch-arm 2e that, when the swinging-arm is at the starting point of itsy outward swing, i. c. with its axis vertical. as shown in Fig. 1, said cam bears against the switch-arm and presses it outward against the inward pull of said spring, thus breaking the circuit. llvlhen, however, the swinging-arm is moved outH ward, the spri returns the switch-arm to its original pos ou, that the current once more flows to the electric motor. The circuit is thus broken every time the swinging-arm is moved to its original starting position.

For the purpose of ad yancing the sub stance-carrying table 2 laterally toward the knife, a feed screw 27 is rotatably arranged on the frame 1 of the machine and is adapted to be engaged by a segmental nut 30 provided on the table 2. A ratchet wheel 23 is secured to the feed screw and is engaged by a pawl 29 arranged at the bottom end of an operating rod A. regulating cam 31 is turnably arranged on the feed screw 27 and can be adjusted therearound by means of a rod 32"L pivoted, at one end, to the cam and provided, at its other end, with a handle 32. The cam 31 is adapted to control the extent of the turning movement of the feed screw by cO-operating with the pawl 29, in known manner.

An operating member 33 is turnably arranged on a boss 37 provided on the bracket 3 of the machine. Said operating member, which comprises two concentric peripheral portions 33a and 33b of different radii, is operatively connected to the swinging-arm 13 by means of a pin 38, the latter being slidably mounted in a boss 33a provided on the member 33 and forced into engagement with one or other of a series of spaced holes 39 in the` swinging-arm by means of a spring 40. The operating member 33 co-operates with a roller 35n provided at one end of a lever 35, which is pivoted at 36 and is connected, at its other end, to the rod 34. A spring ll1 tends constantly to turn the lever 35 about its pivot and thus keep the roller 35a in contact with the periphery of the operating member.

rl`he operatin member 33 moves with the swinging-arm 13 and as the latter is swung inward. i. e. from left to right as viewed in Fig. 2, the roller 35 moves out of contact with the part 33b of said member 33 into contact with the part thereof of larger radius. Thus, the roller 35a and the corresponding end of the lever 35 are depressed and the rod 34 and pawl 29 raised. The engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel 28 causes the feed screw 27 to turn, and the substance-carrying table 2 is fed forward toward the knife. A fixed feeding movement of the substancecarrying table is thus obtained by the movement of the roller 35a from the part 33b of the member 33 to the part 33u thereof and said feeding movement remains fixed as long as the arm 13 is swung sui'liciently for the roller 35a to move from one part to the other part of the member 33, as aforesaid.

As viewed in Fig. 2, the pin 38 is engaged in the third hole from the left of the series of spaced holes 39 in the swinging-arm. Il now, it is desired to operate the machine using a shorter stroke of the arm 13, to cut a narrower piece of substance, the pin 38 is dif-zengaged from the hole in which it engages and is thereafter engaged in one of the other holes 39 to the right of the hole in which the pin is shown to be engaged, the membc' 33 being turned around the boss 37. In this way.` the roller 35a occupies the position shown in Fig. 2, in readiness to move from the part 33" of the member 33 on to the part 33n thereof, when the outward angular movement of the arm 13 is less than as shown.

The operative engagement of the pavvl 29 with the ratchet Wheel 27 is regulated by the cam 3l which, by turning around the feed screw by means of the handle 32, is adapted to permit the paWl 29 to move the ratchet Wheel, thru a greater or less angle as desired. It Will be seen, therefore, that the angular movement of the feed screw and the feeding movement of the substance-carrying table are entirely regulated in accordance With the setting of the cam 3l.

It will be understood that although I have particularly described my invention as applied to a slicing machine in Which the swinging-arm is operated by hand and the rotary knife by power means, the invention is equally applicable to a machine in Which the knife is rotated by the movement of the swingingarm.

I claim l. A slicing machine comprising a frame, a support for material to be sliced movably mounted on said frame, a knife mounted on said frame for oscillation past said support to sever slices from material carried by said support, and means actuated by the oscillation of said knife for feeding said support toward the cutting plane of said knife, said actuated means being adjustable to effect a feeding movement of said support at different positions of said knife in its path of oscillation.

2. A slicing machine comprising a frame, a support for material to be sliced movably mounted on said frame, a knife mounted for oscillation past said support to sever slices from material on lsaid support, feed Vmechanism for moving said support toward the cutting plane of said knife, and a contact member movable With said knife for actuating said feed mechanism, said contact member being adjustable to effect feeding movement of said support at dierent positions of said knife in its path of oscillation.

3.' A slicing machine comprising a frame, a support for material to be sliced movably mounted on said frame, feed mechanism for moving said support on said frame, an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, a knife journalled on said arm, and movable past said support to sever slices from material on said support when said arm is oscillated on its pivot, av movable member for operating said feed mechanism, and a cam for actuating said movable member, said cam having` an offset portion thereon for eecting a definite operation of said movable member irrespective of the amplitude of movement of said arm.

4. A slicing machine comprising a frame, a support for material to be sliced movably mounted on said frame, feed mechanism for moving said support on said frame, an arm pivotally mounted onV said` frame, a knife journaled on said arm-to sever slices from material on saidv support When said arm is oscillated, means for rotating said knife, a contact member connected With said arm to oscillate therewith, means actuated by said contact member for imparting definite movement to said feed mechanism irrespective of the amplitude of oscillation of said arm, and means for adjusting the position of said contact member relative to said arm to vary the position in the oscillation of said arm at which said feed mechanism is actuated.

5. In combination, a slicing machine and a rotary knife, a pivoted arm on which said knife .is journaled, a support for material to be sliced, mechanism for moving said support to feed the material thereon into position to be sliced, said knife being movable to different positions to clear the material on said support, and means for actuating said feed mechanism While said knife is clear of said material, said actuating mechanism being adj ustable to vary the time of operation of said feed mechanism to correspond to different displacements of said knife relative to the material on said support.

6. In combination, a. frame, an arm pivoted on said frame, a slicing knife jonrnaled on said arm, means on said frame for supporting material to be sliced, mechanism for feeding said support to bring the material thereon intoV position to be sliced, and a device for actuating said feeding mechanism, said device being adjustablevabout the pivotal axis of said arm to permit operation of said feed mechanism for different positions of said arm. Y

7. A slicing machine comprising a frame. a support for material to be sliced mounted on said frame, an arm pivoted on said frame, a knife journaled on said arm and movable past said support to sever slices from material on said support When said arm is oscillated, feed mechanism for moving said support toward the cutting plane of said knife, a device connected with said arm for actuating said feed mechanism and arranged to impart a definite movement to said feed mechanism irrespective of the amplitude of movement of said arm, and means for adj usting said'device to e'ect a feeding movement at different positions of` said arm. said feed mechanism being adjustable vary ti e amount of movement imparted thereby to said support.

8. At slicing machine compris1 a frame, feeding mechanism mounted on said frame, an arm pivoted on said frame, a knife journaled on said arm, a cam adjustable about the pivotal of said arm and having means thereon for actuating said feed mechanism, and means for connecting said cam to oscillate with said arm in different positions relative thereto to effect operation of said feed mechanism for different positions of said arm'- S). In a slicing machine, the combination vith a sup-port for the substance to be sliced, a knife oscillatable past said support to cut slices from a substance adapted to be mounted thereon, means for feeding said support toward the cutting plane of said knife, and actuating means for said feeding means operative at various selected positions during the movement of the knife toward the substance to be sliced, said 'feeding means being adjustable to impart various amounts of movement of the support towards the cutting plane of the knife and being unaffected by changing the actuating means adjustment so that it operates at any of the selected positions in the movement of the knife towards the substance to be sliced.

10. ln a slicing machine, the combination with a substance support, a slicing knife movable relative to said support, the extent of relative movement being selectively variable at the will of the operator of said machine for the purpose of cutting substances of different widths with a minimum amount of relative movement, means for advancing a substance along said support toward the cutting plane of said knife, actuating means for producing relative movement between said knife and support, operating means moving With said actuating means for advancing the material at any selected one of a number of predetermined relative positions of said support and knife, and means for adjusting said operating means to select the relative positions of said knife and support at which said advancing means is operable to thereby effect complete movement of said advancing means without moving said knife relatively to the substance support the full extent of its permissible travel.

ll. A device as claimed in claim 10 in which ic means for actuating said advancing means comprises a cam, and an operative connection between said cam and advancing means 'for actuating said advancing means and in which the cam surface is designed to effect complete feeding movement of said support during a small amount of relative movement of said knife to said support, and in which means are provided for changing the position of that portion of the cam which actuates said advancing means through said moving means to thereby selectively determine the position at which said advancing meins will be actuated during the relative pro ation between said knife and said support.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification on this 16th day of October, A. D. 1926.

JOHANNES CORNELIS van BERKEL. 

